The essential oils produced by certain members of the widespread genus Salvia (Labiatae) are used extensively in the food and cosmetic industries. Examples are Dalmatian sage oil from S. officinalis (used to flavor certain foods) and Clary sage oil from 5. sclarea (used in
perfumery).1 S. divinorum ('hojas de la Pastora', possibly identical with ' pipilzintzintli') is a relatively rare plant that is used by the Mazatec Indians of Mexico in their divination rites,2 but no previous chemical studies have been reported for it. However, various biand
tri-cyclic diterpenes have been isolated from other Salvia species.3 Extraction of the leaves of S. divinorum has now yielded a novel bicyclic diterpene, salvinorin (1), C23H2S03, whose structural eludication forms the subject of this paper